Reason For Being
by Von Gentleman
Summary: Artificial intelligence is tested extensively through a pair of twin androids in Colress' ongoing research in how to bring out the full potential and power of pokémon. What the scientist doesn't foresee are the ramifications involved in introducing artificial but sentient beings into human society. (Mostly robomas Ingo & Emmet, Colress, Ghetsis, and Plasma).
1. A City's Clockwork

**Title:** Reason For Being  
**By:** Von Gentleman  
**Rating:** M  
**  
Author's Notes:** New fic! Doing a little bit of an AU with robomas. I've had this planned for a while. Lots of characters will be in this one. Ingo, Emmet, and Colress are the major ones, but you'll see a lot of other characters from BW and BW2 showing up in chapters to come.  
Also experimenting with giving each chapter a title now. We'll see how that goes.  
There will be some potentially heavy/possibly 'disturbing' things that happen later, so you've been warned!

**Reason For Being**

**Chapter One: A City's Clockwork**

The vibrating hum of the city rose from the streets to the tops of the skyscrapers. Flashing lights formed psychedelic designs on the buildings in the sports and theater districts. Predictable patterns of traffic, both from pedestrians and vehicles, often congested the thoroughfares and sidewalks. The fashion runway, which functioned as a pokémon gym, shone through the amusement park area like the shining star it represented. The ferris wheel turned slowly as usual despite its worsening state, rotating like clockwork, much like the visitors and residents who went about their week with their plans. Throughout each day, the sky changed, and the shadows the buildings cast fell differently with the shifting light.

Each day's events contained a slew of information. Most of it was clutter and noise. Processing every twenty-four hour period was not unlike looking at it in a time lapse and eliminating the unimportant details. Only the pertinent information was paid attention to and stored: battles, strategies, combinations of pokémon, subway security, and updates. It could all be processed so fast, within a microsecond; incomprehensible to the human mind.

Despite the android's studies of pokémon battles, strategy, and its programmed knowledge of all pokémon, it did not yet have any pokémon of its own. It was a unique attraction of Nimbasa City, this inhuman subway boss being the most advanced functioning piece of artificial intelligence on the planet.

It—rather, _he_, as it was designed with the look of a male and programmed to perceive itself as such- walked with a steady pace along the platform of the green line, pausing to take in his surroundings, the people that stared at him.

_Keep walking_, said a voice in the depths of his programs. Without questioning it, the android continued on his way, black coat with copper-colored stripes having an appearance much like train tracks flowing behind him when the subway train arrived at the platform with a rush of wind. Adjusting his collar, he stepped into the car and took a place in the back, where it was empty.

The android sat back and closed his eyes. Despite being one, and individual, he felt the constant presence of that entity that it knew ever since it was booted up for the first time. It was usually quiet, only the feeling of shared space being the norm. Sometimes it caused the android to slow in its processing, especially when the two came to conflicting resolutions; however, a conflict was rare.

_Are you ready for everything to change, Ingo?_ asked the voice. It was such a vague voice too; the kind of voice that the android imagined- no, deduced through intense observation and studying- that psychic pokémon would 'hear', though the voice in question was not a mind; rather, it was a separate but connected program. The question that was asked was clear, but the voice wasn't so much audible and human-like as it was information with sentience behind it and the intent to communicate.

_I am ready_, the android named Ingo responded quietly within his own circuits. Although unaware of what the modifications would be, his superior had communicated to him earlier that day that there were going to be drastic changes. While the android had little knowledge of emotion, he could recognize the joy and excitement that filled his superior's face when he spoke about it.

The android could adjust to any changes. After all, he was made for the purposes of service and research. Taking commands from that human, adjusting, and changing, were practically routine occurrences. Whatever the intended changes were, Ingo prepared himself as always, getting off at the central hub that was Gear Station and brushing past the streams and currents of humans during rush hour, all trying to push against him in the opposite direction as they hurried to their trains. Ingo wasn't easily pushed, however, thanks to his artificial body and titanium steel skeleton.

Having fought the waves of rush hour commuters and pokémon trainers, Ingo had finally made it to the central control room, waving politely to passing depot agents in their green uniforms before stopping before a reflective chromium plated door and releasing a wire from his wrist, plugging it into a port. A green light flashed above the security port, indicating that it had been successfully unlocked and he retracted the wire, opening the door to the central control room of Gear Station.

[[To Be Continued]]


	2. The Identical

**Reason For Being**

**Chapter Two: The Identical**

Upon the moment of awakening, the android sensed something was different immediately. White and blue lights flooded his mechanical grey eyes and he instantly recognized where he was. The cube-shaped machine with dimensions of 3.5 meters on each axis with the front of it wide open was jokingly referred to by the few depot agents privy to how Ingo functioned as the 'robot clinic'; this space was where Ingo would get updates, maintenance, and alterations in his hardware and software. It was this spot where Ingo recognized himself as being at his most vulnerable. Here, anything could be changed and altered. His programming could be rewritten. Any piece could be switched out. Here, Ingo's entire sense of being could potentially be erased. Today, he knew he had been drastically altered.

What was almost overwhelming for his systems was the fact that the quiet voice, that other separate but entwined program that had been constantly running in the background ever since he was activated, was now missing.

With the wires still plugged into ports in his head, back, and chest, the android sat up, clutching an open space in his chest cavity, his shirt removed. His fingers poked into the space and found the area with the missing hardware. Every circuit in his system was trying to compensate for that missing program; the mechanisms in his central processing spun faster, making a buzzing hum as his body grew warmer and began to overheat.

"My, my, you're not supposed to be up yet, Ingo," said the familiar human voice. The android lifted his head and found the scientist staring right at him with his usual serenely cold gaze.

"It is missing," Ingo stated flatly, fingers still inside the void where the extracted hardware had been.

"Drastic changes," the scientist reminded him with a wave of his finger. "And you've woken up before everything could be finalized." He reached out and pulled Ingo's hand away from his chest, laying him back down. An eyebrow raised when his gloved hand felt his overheating body and he quickly but carefully detached a cord from the android and allowed it to retract back into the machine surrounding him. "You need to go back to sleep."

"Colress? What happened to the other—?"

"Hush," said Colress, pressing a finger on the robot's lips. "You'll find out soon enough."

The hum of Ingo's internal mechanisms began to die down and his body began to cool. Once another wire was attached in his head, the lights and machine around him began to fade.

...

It felt like merely seconds later when the android awoke once again, though his internal clock told him it had been thirteen hours, two minutes, and twenty-three seconds. Mechanical silver eyes met organic gold ones belonging to Colress, who was leaning over him.

"All done," he said with a kind of smile that was rare for the scientist. Although Ingo often saw Colress looking pleasant enough, he seldom looked so…

Ingo didn't really know what the word for it was. Regardless, he recognized that the human's mood was good, as they'd say.

Once again, the android sat up, feeling his chest, finding that the space that had been opened up was now closed, his silicon skin being flawless as always. All cords and wires had been unplugged or retracted. He then reached for his shirt and tie and started to put them back on.

Ingo began to scan himself for information, find what updates had been made, what kind of new programming he had, if any, what kind of new hardware, if any; normally he would know instantly what had been done, but all he could find was that, like he had noticed before, the program that had been running in the background and communicating with him since he was activated was gone, _still_ gone.

"If you do not mind me asking," Ingo started politely as he finished fixing his tie and tucking his shirt in, "What is the purpose for the changes that were made?"

"That's the exciting part," Colress told him, still smiling, leaning forward ever so slightly as if silently urging the android to pull himself together faster. Ingo pulled his white gloves on and his usual black coat with the copper track pattern and his hat before looking down slightly at the human, ready; he was just a bit taller than the scientist.

"This way," he urged the android. Ingo followed the blond, watching the single long part of blue hair that formed a ring around his head bob ever so slightly with each step.

Just a room over, Colress led the android inside, stopping before the new thing before him, crossing his arms, pleased.

Ingo stopped in his tracks upon seeing it. He blinked once, twice, taking in all the information.

It was an android perfectly identical to his own appearance, dressed in clothes identical to his own although every part that was black on Ingo's uniform was white on this new android's.

"I'm calling him Emmet," Colress informed Ingo, his satisfied expression still in place. "This is where that program went," he continued. "It had been in you all along to learn with you. It took a while, but I finally got the funding to get him a body. Took the engineers long enough to build it." For a moment, Colress sneered. "Of course, they left it to _me_ to do the transfer of the programming. Let a researcher figure it out on his own, they said," Colress mocked, waving his hands around in the air. "'It would be _fun_,' they said," he added with a roll of his eyes.

Ingo continued to stare at it and began to walk around the standing, sleeping android.

"He is… just like me?"

"Oh, no. He's identical in appearance, but he's got something you don't." He paused, looking at the identical. "Emmet is programmed with emotion." His gold eyes shifted back toward Ingo. "You are not."

The very mention of the concept of emotion caused Ingo's systems to slow ever so slightly. Nothing was turning up other than information on human facial expressions and the fact that they indicate these odd little things called 'moods' that were completely foreign to Ingo.

"It's the key part of my research," Colress added. "To understand what brings out the maximum power of pokémon, I need controls and I need variables in my research. This is why you are identical in every way, except, of course, for the fact that you are not programmed with emotion and Emmet is." He looked up toward the ceiling, thoughtful. "People are too fickle, too unpredictable. That is why I am using you two. What brings out the full power of a pokémon? Perfect logical steps? An emotional bond? I need to test my theory."

"I see," Ingo blinked again in understanding. Then he looked at the human. "Colress, does this mean that we will get our own pokémon?"

"Of course," he nodded. "I've already selected which ones you both will receive." His attention then turned back to the sleeping android. "Well? Let's meet him." The scientist reached to detach a cord from the other android and, upon its release, the android opened its identical silver eyes, gazing at Ingo.

It smiled at him.

"Hello. I am Emmet. I am a subway boss. And I like winning more than anything else."

[[To Be Continued]]


	3. Processing Error

**Reason for Being**

**Chapter Three: Processing Error**

To observe the android identical in appearance act autonomously, exude moods, and communicate his thoughts through his own voice was all proof that Ingo had been separated from the program he had gotten so used to having inside of himself.

Emmet sat across from Ingo in the last car of the train with his hands folded, an ever-present smile on his face. Though he did display different moods, they seemed to constantly resemble what Ingo recognized as positive feelings. Emmet's mechanical silver eyes met Ingo's and he gazed at him from across the car.

"It's my first day outside of the control room in my own body and I'm have a lot of fun," he finally said in a voice that was almost an octave higher than Ingo's. The older android noted how his identical could use contractions unlike himself. "Now we'll both be subway bosses, exactly how everything was planned in the first place," Emmet declared with a rather pleasant demeanor.

"Yes." Ingo's gaze didn't leave the other android's. There was a long pause before Ingo blinked, defaulting to his usual polite ways. "Forgive me, Emmet, I am simply not used to perceiving you in your new form. Moreover, our communication has been slowed down ever since our separation. Full seconds worth of speech take so much longer for me to process than the nanoseconds it took for us to communicate with each other when we were linked. I apologize for my delayed responses."

Emmet stood then and paced over to Ingo's side of the car in two long strides, taking a seat beside him.

"I'm still adjusting, myself. There are some minor drawbacks," he noted with a nod. "But I really like having my own body. I'm stronger this way, less dependent." His head turned a bit toward Ingo, the movement just the slightest bit too robotic to look perfectly human. "And I've freed up a lot of space on you," he smiled. "You get to," he paused, brought a gloved hand up, and started twisting it around in directions that no human possibly could, "Process everything faster and more freely!"

"Yes, that is the case," Ingo agreed, watching his identical goof around with his appendage.

"Ah, well," Emmet ceased his robotic fidgeting and shrugged, emulating movements that were far more like the species they were meant to resemble. "I suppose I'm adjusting as well. Looking just like you makes an awful lot of people stare at us, doesn't it?"

"I believe people stare because we are androids. They know that we are different from them. We are oddities to humans."

Emmet nodded and allowed his body to slide a little closer to Ingo's. "Maybe they also stare because we're twins."

Ingo's head tilted slightly and looked at Emmet somewhat inquisitively. "You are referring to monozygotic twins," he clarified. "Though we are identical in appearance and our hardware and central processing units are the same, we are not completely identical. Your software includes quite a few elements that I am not equipped with. Besides, the term _twin_ is reserved for biological entities in which the phenomenon is present, is it not?"

"I believe the term can be used more loosely," Emmet disagreed, reaching out to pat Ingo's face, looking it over as one would stare at his own reflection in a mirror. "I think we are twins and you are the older one." He paused, then looked at Ingo with excitement on par with what Ingo had observed in Colress when he had woken up after his alterations were finished. "That means we're brothers! I want to call you my brother, my twin."

"Brothers," Ingo repeated, processing the term and trying to apply it to themselves. He sorted through the information he knew of human relationships and found that the comparison was logical. "That is a reasonable deduction. You are my younger brother and I am your older brother. We are twins."

The newer android smiled wider. "You are my brother and I love you _very_ much."

Ingo blinked, feeling his system slow just the slightest bit at the mention of the word.

"Love?" he asked, searching for a reference in his data.

_love__ |l__ə__v|_

_noun_

_**1 **__an intense feeling of deep affection_

• _a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone_

• _(__** Love**__) a personified figure of love, often represented as Cupid._

• _a great interest and pleasure in something_

Ingo's eyelids blinked once more in confusion.

"I am receiving multiple results, all seeming to mean different things. I do not understand. Even the definitions do not make sense to me."

"Try the first definition," Emmet urged, knowing what Ingo was referencing, having the same wiring as his 'twin.' "It's the most basic, most straight-forward definition. We are not capable of the second definition, right?" he laughed. "We're androids, after all."

"Are you okay?" Ingo asked, staring at his 'brother.'

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You just made a bizarre noise and I presumed you were malfunctioning."

"Oh, no, that's a laugh. It's a result of being amused," he clarified.

"Amused…" Ingo trailed off, trying to make sense of this word.

"Ingo, forget that," Emmet pat his face again. "Let's take one at a time and stick with love for now, its most basic definition."

The older android took Emmet's advice but this only seemed to cause Ingo more confusion.

_An intense feeling of deep affection._

Ingo searched for further information.

_affection__ə__ˈfek sh __ə__n|_

_noun_

_**1 **__a gentle feeling of fondness or liking_

• _physical expressions of these feelings_

Ingo's eyes looked vacant as his system slowed a little more, the mechanisms in him working harder, causing his temperature to increase.

"Ah. Don't over-work yourself, Ingo," Emmet advised, reaching to touch his shoulder.

Images of passengers on the subways popped up from when Ingo was on duty as a conductor and he worked on making the proper associations. Some images in his memory were of parents with their children, some of couples, some of siblings, and many were of friends. It helped in providing a context for the definitions.

After a few more moments, he finally nodded. "I see. I think I understand what it is. However, it does not make sense to me. Why do humans feel the need to touch when they love someone? Is the feeling in and of itself not sufficient? Can one not communicate to another to confirm that the feeling is present? Why is that not satisfactory?"

"People are strange. I suppose since I'm programmed to behave in a more human-like manner, that makes me strange too," Emmet murmured. "People don't like just hearing information and words. They need to, ah, _feel_ it. It needs to constantly be shown so they know that the person they love feels the same. If a person is not loved, they become sad," he paused, noting Ingo trying to work through another new definition again. "Hey, one emotion at a time," he reminded him with a slight smile.

"It's not just people though," Emmet went on. "Pokémon display affection this way too, you know, both toward their trainers and toward each other! Well, many of them do. Klinklangs would not, for example, since they're really more like…" Emmet stopped, then looked at Ingo, laughing again, "More like you! They're sentient mechanisms devoid of emotion. That's why moves like _attract_ do not work on them. But pokémon such as galvantulas, ducklets, and minccinos all tend to display this kind of affection or love. It's necessary for many species to function and, well, exist. Of course, Pokémon, like klinklangs and magnemites, can still become attached to their trainers, so perhaps you have the capability to be attached as well."

"You and I were attached," Ingo said bluntly. "We are not anymore."

Emmet shook his head. "No, we're still attached. Just not physically. I'm not embedded in your hardware anymore, but I'm still attached to you."

"I do not understand."

Emmet sighed. "I'll explain later."

Ingo continued to take a few more moments to process all this new information. "The fourth meaning," he murmured, quoting the definition, "_A __great interest and pleasure in something_ – one can love objects and actions?"

"That is one way of putting it." Emmet nodded.

"So…" Ingo paused to think for an extra second before continuing, "Colress loves his research?"

"Yes, exactly!" Emmet leaned closer to Ingo and put his hand over the older android's. "It's a different kind of love; there are many different kinds of love. I think you're catching on though."

Ingo looked down at their hands, noting that his twin's action was not unlike displays of affection he had observed before. "I apologize for my inability to return the feelings you are showing me, as I lack the capability to do so." Ingo lifted his head in a robotic motion and met matching silver eyes. "However, I will do my best to understand your emotions and, indeed, the emotions of others."

Emmet closed his eyes serenely with his smile still in place. "There is no need to apologize. You're my twin brother, just a little different from me. You are _you_ and that's why I love you."

[[To Be Continued]]


	4. Components

**Reason For Being**

**Chapter Four: Components**

"Ingo. Emmet. Come here."

Colress' command prompted the androids to open their silvery eyes, moving together to unhook themselves from the wires which came out of the main panel in the central control room. They had been downloading new data on the subways into their systems; almost all of the underground lines had been revamped, with the exception of the brown line to Anville Town, which hadn't changed.

With his back turned toward the androids, the scientist beckoned with his index finger to come forward. Curiously, both Ingo and Emmet did as they were told and stood side by side just a few paces behind him.

It was then that Colress revealed three poké balls in each hand, six total, either extended out toward each twin.

Emmet's eyes widened with an excited smile on his face, looking down at the devices in Colress' gloved hands, then up at the scientist, and finally to Ingo at his side. He said nothing but his fists balled in anticipation. Had he been a human, he probably would have squealed in excitement.

In response to this new information, Ingo stayed as he was, taking in all of what Colress was telling him, eyes not leaving the scientist. He merely folded his hands behind his back as he was spoken to.

"These are the pokémon you will both start out with. I am going to begin my experiment with controls," he explained as he handed the red and white spherical devices to each subway boss. "You will train them first and battle them on the subway once they've achieved level fifty; then you will continue to train them and increase their power." Colress stopped for a moment and gestured toward the poké balls they both now held. "For now, you each have the same ones, all currently at level one. My expectation of you both is that your pokémon are quickly leveled up. Work on increasing their power to the absolute maximum. I'll be looking at their stats and taking notes on whose pokémon evolves first and whether or not the results are consistent between you both."

"Our own pokémon!" Emmet exclaimed with wide eyes. "Ingo, let's see what we've got!"

Ingo gave Emmet a small nod as they each, for the first time, threw their poké balls in the air.

"Go!" they both commanded simultaneously.

With bright flashes of light, their identical pokémon were revealed: Two klinks, two trubbish, and two dwebbles, one for each boss, all curiously looking up at their new trainers.

Colress glanced down at the pokémon before looking back up at the twins as his glasses caught a flash from the bright lights overhead. "The subways have been reinvented for high level battles- all for you. Once you've both mastered single battles, you will each get variable Pokémon and move onto more complex battles." Colress' serenely cold amber gaze switched to a full, calculating smile. "Now my research truly begins."

Emmet leaned down to introduce himself to them. "Hello there. I'm Emmet, your new trainer." He took a moment to pat dwebble's rocky shell, pet the top of trubbish' head, and allow klink to spin around him. He laughed. "We're going to build a _very_ awesome team."

Ingo remained as he was and raised a hand up toward them. "Hello. I am Ingo. I am your trainer. We are going to train today."

Colress, having retreated several paces to give them space, was already taking notes on his tablet, jotting down observations between the two. As expected, Emmet took a more personal approach with his pokémon, while Ingo was less hands-on. After finding they were now sufficiently acquainted with their pokémon, Colress collapsed his tablet and spoke to them. "You may start your training now. Don't feel limited to Gear Station; you may challenge trainers throughout Nimbasa City and, when your partners are strong enough, in the outskirts, such as the Desert Resort, Route 4, Route 5, or Route 16, so long as you are each back by 21:00."

Each subway boss gave Colress a small salute, returning their pokémon to their poké balls.

"Thank you!" Emmet said to him warmly.

"We will work our hardest," Ingo added before they were both off and out of the control room.

Colress watched them leave and, giving the control room a once over, he used the main panel to change the access code so that no one could unlock the door and enter; not even the androids. Then he started up a monitor, his excited smile dwindling down to more of a wry smirk, brows furrowing just the slightest bit. He felt that he might as well get his progress report over with.

After dialing a few numbers, the all-too-familiar face that he found himself ideologically at odds with far too often showed up, frowning and looking expectant as ever.

"Well?" asked the middle aged man, annoyance apparent in his one red eye.

"Mr. Ghetsis," Colress began, "The experiment has officially started today. Each artificial life form has been given the controls. My observations indicate what I've been expecting. My hypothesis is that Subject One will fall short in achieving the maximum potential of his pokémon, while Subject Two will excel due to his emotionally advanced—"

"I don't care about your babbling, Doctor. You're six weeks behind schedule."

Colress gave the man an exasperated forced smile. "Science runs on its own time; you can't force it. And apparently, mechanical and software engineers work on their own time too. Subject Two's body was only delivered a few days-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I want results," Ghetsis practically snarled. "Something you seem to consistently forget is that you work for Plasma—that is, you work for me. Don't let the authority I've given you make you too comfortable. I want to meet with you in Castelia in one week, got it?"

Colress grasped the front of the panel. "Yes, Mr. Ghetsis," he said with a nod, still forcing the smile and internally furious at his superior's condescending tone.

The monitor went black when the call was abruptly ended by the Plasma sage, the one person in the entire organization who had more power than the scientist, leaving him only with a feeling of dreaded anticipation for the upcoming mandatory trip to Castelia City.

[[To Be Continued]]


	5. Observable Differences

**REASON FOR BEING  
**

**Chapter Five: Observable Differences**

"Please keep your lunch money. I am an android and I do not require it," Ingo explained to a child who was on the verge of tears over her fainted purrloin, offering the few coins she had to Ingo. When he denied her, she only recoiled, afraid of the strange, tall, robotic being.

Not far away, Emmet was similarly comforting a small boy. "I appreciate your help!" he assured him. "Battling helps make both our pokémon very strong. Take your lillipup to the pokémon center with your sister's purrloin, okay?" He smiled at him and then headed over toward Ingo. He looked at his twin, then down at the little girl before kneeling closer to her level. "Why don't you use that money to go on a ride on the ferris wheel with your brother after healing your pokémon?" he suggested.

Wiping her eyes, the little girl nodded. "Okay, Mr. Conductor," she sniffed. With that, she joined her brother and ran toward the pokémon center.

Emmet sighed. "Those siblings act _very_ different from us, don't they?" he observed.

"Indeed," Ingo remarked. His neck moved a bit robotically to turn and regard his twin. "You appear to do well with both children and adult humans. I do not."

"Ah, there are little things you can do, Ingo," Emmet suggested. "I noticed that you tend to look past people when you speak to them. You don't do it all the time, but you do it often enough. Try looking in their eyes! Humans seem to feel more at ease when this is done. I'm not really sure why but it does seem to work."

"Eye contact?" he asked. "I will make sure to do this then. Do you have suggestions for pokémon?" he inquired. "While we are both increasing their strength very quickly, I seem to be falling behind you."

"Isn't that the point though? Colress wants to see who raises stronger pokémon. Don't you think we'd be interfering with the experiment if you copied what I did?"

Ingo reached for the three poké balls that he had attached to his belt, holding them in his hand, staring at them. "Certain actions can be duplicated without emotion."

"Then do what you do best, Ingo! Observe. I spent the past few years observing you from the back of your programming. Perhaps you can do the same now. You can learn a lot from your little brother, because I am more advanced than you."

"Alright…" Ingo agreed with some hesitation. It was the realization that Emmet was indeed more advanced than he was which caused him to take extra time to process a response. All he could think of was that his inability to emote and empathize may render him obsolete in the eyes of science in just a few years-

"Hi Elesa!" Emmet called, interrupting Ingo's thoughts. He saw his twin waving at the famous tall woman in red sunglasses and her large yellow jacket who had just exited her runway-turned-gym.

The black-haired woman paused and removed her sunglasses, looking at the twin androids with her blue eyes.

"Who are you? Not some paparazzi I hope—" she stopped mid-sentence, recognizing Ingo, and then looked at Emmet. "Oh, there are two of you now?" Elesa turned toward one of the blond younger models in her entourage. "Hold my drink," she commanded as she handed the model the cup in her hand before approaching them.

"Actually, there have always been two of us, but yup, I have a body now!" Emmet smiled widely. "I know you but you don't know me! You're the most famous model in all of Unova and you specialize in electric types!"

"Most famous model?" Ingo repeated and frowned. "Emmet, we are the most famous models. We are more advanced than any of our predecessors. She does not even have a serial number."

"No, no, a _fashion_ model, Ingo!"

"Yeah, _this_ isn't bizarre," Elesa murmured to herself sarcastically. "What are you two up to anyway?"

"We were training our pokémon," Ingo told her simply.

"You have pokémon now? Androids with pokémon…" she thought aloud. "I guess you just got them, right?"

"Affirmative. When they are strong enough, the battle subway will open," Ingo explained.

Elesa shielded her eyes a bit from the setting sun that hadn't quite fallen below the horizon that shone with a bright orange glow. "Right, the battle subway. There's a lot of rumors floating around about when that will open up. Well, if it brings more tourism to Nimbasa, it will bring even more trainers to my gym." She paused then. "I'd be interested in battling you both when you're ready. The gym is open to you at any time."

"Thank you, Elesa!" Emmet smiled widely, adding, "You're pretty! And so is your entourage."

"Yes, your exterior is aesthetically sufficient," Ingo added, trying to mimic Emmet's compliment. "Do challenge us when the battle subway opens. We may have an interesting battle."

Elesa smirked slightly, only turning back toward her entourage. "Give me my drink back," she commanded the blond once more as she put her red sunglasses back, walking into the city with her group as she gave the twins a wave goodbye from behind.

The twins looked after her before they turned back toward each other.

"Emmet. We have not battled each other today yet."

"Our thoughts appear to be synchronized, Ingo. Shall we have one here?"

Ingo nodded.

Both took hold of one poké ball and each released their dwebbles first.

Emmet began by commanding his dwebble to use rock polish while Ingo instructed his to use faint attack. After Emmet's took damage, he commanded it to use faint attack as well before switching his dwebble out with trubbish. After Ingo commanded his dwebble to use slash, trubbish used sludge and poisoned dwebble. The older android recalled dwebble and sent out klink.

Ever since the twins had gotten their pokémon, they had made multiple trips to the pokémon center. The androids worked them hard but never treated them poorly, always being sure to rest them well.

The battle went on for approximately twenty minutes outside of the amusement park, drawing the attention of many passers-by. It didn't seem to matter to the onlookers whether or not their pokémon were very high level yet; their appearance was stunning and impressive; word had spread about how there was not only one, but two identical subway bosses and it piqued the curiosity of both children and adults. On top of it all, their battle was challenging and almost equally matched.

Almost.

When Ingo sent out his poisoned dwebble once more after his klink and trubbish had been defeated, it fainted once Emmet's klink made its final gear grind attack, leaving Emmet with the last pokémon standing, albeit weakly.

The crowd that had formed around them erupted in applause. Emmet smiled widely and took a small bow as Ingo returned his pokémon.

"Bravo, Emmet. You won again."

[[To Be Continued]]


	6. The Logic of Feeling

**REASON FOR BEING**

Chapter Six: The Logic of Feeling

A high-pitched beep indicating the automatic door had been unlocked with the proper access code could be heard before it opened with a swish.

The clean shine of the monitor's screen was reflective enough for the scientist to see who had entered as he was going over his most recent results concerning the statistics of the twins' pokémon.

"Ingo. I wasn't expecting you," Colress said, turning in time to see the automatic door swishing closed behind the android.

"Dr. Colress, if I may request a moment of your time?" he asked of him politely with his hands folded properly behind his back.

"This is a rarity," the blond remarked as he gave him attention. Indeed, the older of the androids was seldom one to interrupt the scientist, though Colress was not critically focused today and the majority of his work had been finished; he didn't mind.

Ingo took a few steps to get closer to the scientist. "I apologize for interrupting your research; however, I have a query." Ingo made sure to look Colress in the eye and maintain contact. "Though I am aware that my lack of emotional capability is part of your research, I have observed that Emmet is surpassing me in critical ways. From his ability to connect with his pokémon to his interaction with humans, I am of the opinion that I am at a severe disadvantage."

Hearing Ingo's introduction to his question caused Colress to frown at first before lifting one brow, genuinely intrigued and surprised. This was certainly not something the scientist ever considered hearing, not from the older model android.

"Go on. What is it that you want to ask me?"

Ingo was quiet for a moment before lowering his head slightly, his gaze to the floor when making his request. "Would it be reasonable of me to ask for emotional components when you have completed your research?"

With his arms folded across his chest, the scientist could only stare at the older android. Despite his lack of emotional capability, the request was oddly human like, indicating desires and goals that were not strictly centered around his duties.

"…Fascinating," Colress murmured.

"Doctor?" Ingo asked in confusion.

"Ingo, tell me, what is motivating you to ask for such a thing? Let's not consider my research at this moment. Outside of my research, outside of statistics and numbers, what advantages do you believe you will gain if I had you equipped with emotion software?"

Upon hearing Colress' question, Ingo looked back up at Colress and straightened his posture. "Emmet is more advanced than I am. He is, by far, the most human-like artificial creation in existence."

"And?"

"I do not want to be obsolete."

Colress could not take his gaze off of Ingo now. Taking his glasses off, he moved right in front of Ingo, touching him under the chin. "Repeat what you just said."

"I do not want to be obsolete," Ingo repeated obediently, keeping his eyes on Colress'.

The scientist's amber gaze did not leave the android. It took a moment to sink in. _Want_. Ingo used the word _want_. His reasoning, not wanting to be obsolete, almost seemed to imply a fear of what would happen if he were deemed outdated.

"Explain your reasoning to me. Indulge me."

"I…" Ingo paused, needing an extra moment to correctly articulate his thoughts. "If I became obsolete, I would be deactivated. I do not want to be deactivated. Self-preservation… is it not logical?"

"Indeed, self-preservation from a biological standpoint is, of course, logical," Colress replied, circling around Ingo as he spoke. "But to hear it from you, it's… fascinating," he repeated. It was a lot to comprehend, too much for a short period of time.

The blond finally paused in front of Ingo and turned to face him. "To answer your question, however, I will tell you this: you are _gifted_ in your lack of emotion. You don't possess human error in judgment. You're not inhibited by emotions. You are not motivated by selfishness or hatred of any kind. In a matter of life or death, I would entrust you over Emmet. You are the one who will make the logical choice, _always_." Finally, he made Ingo look at him once more, his hand on his cheek. "And I prefer you this way. To add the variable of emotion in you is to fundamentally change you."

Ingo blinked a few times in understanding before he gave Colress a slight nod. "I understand your decision, Doctor Colress."

The scientist smiled slightly, pulling his hand away. "After all, Ingo, you are jumping too quickly to conclusions. My research has only just begun. Where you may be falling short now could be an area that you'll be excelling with in the future. A day to a human feels much longer to you, I understand; however, we need to look at the long-term trends in my research. This will take months, if not years," he explained, motioning toward the monitors displaying the most recent data. "For that reason, I must decline your request. I'm sorry, Ingo, but you will see the benefits of my decision soon enough."

"There is no need to apologize, Doctor Colress. I understand." Ingo gave the scientist a slight nod in acknowledgement before turning to leave.

"Ingo?" Colress called after him.

The android looked over his shoulder toward him.

"Please report back here with Emmet at 17:00. I will be leaving for Castelia City early tonight and I need to prepare you both with tasks while I'm away."

"Yes, Doctor."

[[To Be Continued]]


	7. Delays Not Permitted

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Seven: Delays Not Permitted**

Nimbasa City's magnificent vibrance began to fade into tiny distant lights as the plane approached the pitch darkness that was the Desert Resort. Colress could feel his body tensing ever so slightly as it always did when flying over the vast space. The sandstorms were persistent and though the plane was at a high altitude, the wind still managed to jostle the small private jet every single time a trip was made. It wasn't a very long flight to Castelia City- an easy forty-five minutes- but those sandstorms always succeeded in making that familiar flight path seem so much longer to the scientist.

Any uneasiness Colress was feeling was not displayed on his countenance, however. As turbulent as the wind was, the majority of that sinking feeling that knotted itself in the pit of his stomach was more a reaction to the anticipation of having to face the only person who held power over him. What he knew, at the very least, was to anticipate coming back to Nimbasa with his own blood on his face. Untimely results in Colress' research led to prompt displays of anger on the Plasma leader's part; that much was assured.

Colress tried to relax in the plane as it flew over the dark space. It was always easier for him to think at night, even with the loud hum of the plane constantly droning.

The relationship he had established with Ghetsis was one of both mutual trust and distrust. Though he hated to admit it, Colress recognized that he had a lot in common with Ghetsis.

The scientist's outwardly flippant attitude toward Plasma's goals was no secret and common knowledge among the grunts that normally surrounded him; however, Colress was often amused and astounded over the fact that the grunts didn't realize that Ghetsis cared no more about Plasma's goal than he did. Ghetsis was smart- _very_ smart- and he knew how to put on that mask of fake ideals in order to make his organization stronger. The people at the top of a successful cultist and terrorist organization never believed their own propaganda, after all.

Neither Colress nor Ghetsis bought into the very ideals that were used to gain more recruits; he knew the idea of liberating pokémon from trainers that was used two years earlier was a tool to gain more followers and a way for Ghetsis to manipulate his son into doing what he wished if him; that being said, what Ghetsis _did_ believe, that he could truly dominate the world through Plasma, was something Colress found utterly ridiculous. Plasma sought new recruits through many different avenues now: ideals, rewards, promises of power; but Colress could only damn himself for falling into Ghetsis' manipulative clutches himself. The sage knew how to play him like a deck of cards. Promising him funding, equipment, means and methods of achieving his goals, and _delivering_ them to him...

And in spite of it all, regardless of how pathetic accepting the sage's offer was, Colress still said yes. So certain of his theories, having all the statistics, tests, and data he needed, and yet being pushed aside in Academia in favor of more practical pursuits had made him nearly desperate for the backing he needed to carry out more research. It was as though Ghetsis had hand-picked him specifically for his purposes. Colress knew he was being used as a tool no less than any of the grunts were. The difference was that Colress practically had everything he needed at his fingertips. If he asked for something of Ghetsis, he got it, so long as he could provide a reason for his requests being beneficial to Plasma; it was never very hard to persuade the Plasma leader in this way.

All Colress could do was laugh to himself- _at_ himself. Ghetsis put him in the position of boss, yet they both knew he was merely a figurehead. Should something go wrong, it was Colress' problem to deal with. If an enemy came to look for the leader of Plasma, Colress was the first person on their list, always giving Ghetsis enough time to relocate. It had happened often enough before. Colress couldn't quite recall just how many law enforcement officers were sniped as a result right before his eyes.

Regardless of his almost pawn-like position, Colress used Ghetsis no less. Despite the living hell Ghetsis unceremoniously put him through, the sage knew what Colress was capable of doing with his research. At any time, on any day, Colress could use it all against him.

Doing such a thing would not be beneficial to either side as things stood; but the possibility, the _capability,_ was always there. The scientist knew that Ghetsis was well aware of this.

That did not mean, however, that Colress was anywhere near close to _equal_ with Ghetsis.

Castelia's glow grew brighter and brighter as the small plane made its way out from the Desert Resort. Though the turbulence ceased, Colress could feel the hot and cold sensation of adrenaline moving through his veins, keeping him somewhat stiff as the propellers of the plane shifted horizontally, switching the aircraft into a hovering mode and landing on top of a tall skyscraper.

When the craft opened up, Colress hurried out of it, paying no mind to the grunts who followed closely behind.

The building was familiar, a spot used occasionally for meetings in Castelia City. Colress made his way through the rooftop entrance where the door was being held open for him by a familiar half-covered face. The redheaded grunt closed the door behind her when the others followed and took leadership of the group, directing the scientist down a few halls. There was a time when Colress trusted her; Angie was usually assigned to assist him and it was easy for him to tell her about his latest discoveries, mostly because she was often the only person present to speak to. It was when Ghetsis had her turn and kick him in the ribs just under a year ago after he had been accused of leaking his findings to other sources that caused him not to feel so secure around her.

The scientist's fists were clenched as they approached two large doors. It wasn't like he didn't have an idea of what to expect.

An armed grunt at the door stopped Colress, holding out a hand expectantly. The scientist practically rolled his eyes and reached under his lab coat to remove the small pistol he kept hidden. He wasn't very good at using it and he normally had grunts to protect him, but he wound up using the weapon as a deterrent more often than he ever wanted to.

With that, the door was opened and the scientist entered, finding Ghetsis glowering at him from a chair. Plasma grunts lined the walls like soldiers on either side.

"Doctor Colress," Ghetsis finally stated, his tone cutting like the blade of a knife.

Colress pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose slightly. "Mr. Ghetsis," he reciprocated with a voice like ice.

"You do know why I've brought you here, don't you?"

"I suppose it might have something to do with a certain inconvenient delay."

Ghetsis chuckled, shifting in his seated position. "And you pride yourself on seeing the big picture," he shook his head. "The engineers who have wasted weeks of our time have been dealt with accordingly. There was no need for so many unnecessary details to be put into your subjects."

Colress didn't realize he was holding his breath until Ghetsis revealed to him that he was no longer mad at him about the delay, though he could have sworn he was going to be punished for it just a few days ago. Nevertheless, he didn't let his guard down.

"In that case, why did you bring me here?" Colress didn't bother to argue over whether or not he missed some clever little detail; the sage was always deliberately changing things on him to begin with.

Ghetsis narrowed his one visible red eye at him, the lines in his face becoming more pronounced. "It involves another _inconvenient delay_." He held up his hand, prompting one of the grunts to bring a stack of papers to him. Ghetsis lifted them, glaring more at Colress. "What the _hell_ is all this important for?" With a swift movement of his gloved hand, he threw the stack in the scientist's direction, scattering them all around him.

Bemused with the other's behavior, Colress gingerly reached down to pick up a few papers and gloss over them. "These? I've been detailing each android's behavior. Specific human-like actions of subject two, to be clear. For example, he's been taking personal interests in other individuals he's been meeting and—"

"_He_? They're androids. _Objects_. And like the engineers who wasted our time, you are now accounting for all the irrelevant details. How much time does this take to detail every day?!" he practically barked at him in the completely silent room.

"…_it_," Colress corrected himself, delayed. "Mr. Ghetsis, with all due respect, these details are important to include in the research."

"No, Colress," he finally dropped his formality. "Subject one is a machine. Subject two is a machine that gives the illusion of being human. The details are not necessary. Only the big picture, the _results_," he spoke louder, faster.

Colress went quiet. "In that case, I'll exclude the details," he murmured.

"Yes. I think you will." Ghetsis finally stood. "And just to be sure that it's gotten through to you…" The sage snapped his fingers and the grunts lining the wall suddenly surrounded the scientist.

Colress attempted to take a step back but only found more grunts behind him. He glared and looked up at Ghetsis with contempt.

Calmer looking now, Ghetsis looked down at the scientist from his tall height. "If anything is broken, you will be shot," Ghetsis told the grunts. "Beat him," he commanded.

With that, the grunts descended upon him, just as Ghetsis turned to relax back in his seat, the sounds of boots kicking flesh and strangled cries acting almost like a drug on the sage. Somehow, the sight managed to bring him into a far more placid state.

"Enough." With the number of grunts present, he only allowed it to carry on for just under a minute, but it was enough for Colress to be revealed as having a face covered in blood. His white coat was smudged with scuffs and his body was barely able to lift itself. Colress was propped up on his elbows, shaking, amazed that his glasses were spared.

After attempting to catch his breath, Colress finally managed to find his voice. "Satisfied?" he nearly spat.

Ghetsis merely stared at Colress. "Is that the makings of a black eye that I see?" He frowned, turning to face the uniformed members of Plasma. "Who did it?" he asked among the grunts. When there was no answer, he repeated the question louder. "Who did it?!"

Finally, a grunt sheepishly stepped forward, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground.

Taking a pistol out from beneath his cloak, Ghetsis shot the grunt right between the eyes, causing the other grunts to flinch from the noise as the offender fell backward. "Idiot," he murmured to himself. "I need him able to perform his duties," he announced to the now ex-grunt. Colress only twitched slightly from the loud popping noise that was fired, one of his ears ringing intensely now.

After Ghetsis replaced the pistol, he looked back at Colress with a much softer expression now; he was, indeed, satisfied. "Doctor Colress. You are dismissed."

[[To Be Continued]]


	8. Call Received

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Eight: Call Received**

The train whirred loudly through the tunnels, picking up its pace as the identical androids sat across from each other in mirrored positions, staring at one another.

"Doctor Colress is late," Ingo finally said.

"He is. I wonder what's keeping him?" Emmet asked as he looked at the poké balls on his belt. "We shouldn't resume training until he returns."

"Indeed. I suppose we will just have to wait and maintain the lines in the meantime."

"There's always plenty to do," Emmet remarked with a nod. "Ever since my dwebble evolved into a crustle though, I've been eager to train it more! It's a shame that Colress wasn't here to see it. I'm just keeping him inside his poké ball so his stats stay the same and the data can be collected."

Ingo glanced down at his own poké ball, which contained his dwebble. He knew it had to be getting close to evolving but his more advanced twin had surpassed him, as was expected. Nevertheless, he didn't lose sight of the task that he was given along with the other android. "I would like to continue more too. I am confident that I am not very far behind you."

"But my pokémon still evolved before yours did," Emmet remarked in an almost teasing, sing-song voice as he playfully kicked his legs up in the air for a moment before sitting properly once more. "And that's fine, right? I'm just proving Doctor Colress' theory to be correct. He'd be pleased!"

Ingo continued to stare at the poké ball that he was now holding in his hand containing his dwebble. "The experiment is still in its early stages," the older android corrected. "I have spoken with Doctor Colress about this. He told me that it could take months—perhaps even years—before he is able to collect the most accurate data and draw a proper conclusion. It is an ongoing study. That aside, we have not even started using the battle subway yet; many variables will be introduced into the equation when this happens."

Emmet's mechanical silvery eyes shifted toward his twin's. "Have I upset you? I didn't mean to be offensive."

"Though I recognize what those negative emotions are, I do not understand your query, Emmet, as I have never been offended or upset in the history of my operation. You know that."

"Ah, you do not understand when I'm making a joke," the newer android laughed. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more direct. Maybe I can teach you about humor sometime?"

The android clad in black only stared at his twin in confusion, letting the topic go when he decided it was irrelevant, finally turning his attention toward the window where the lights in the tunnel appeared every three seconds with the train keeping a steady pace.

All was quiet with the exception of the locomotive moving through the tunnel until the familiar sound of an X-transceiver went off. Both androids tilted their heads in the direction it was coming from.

Ingo lifted his wrist and pressed the answer button. "Hello. This is Subway Boss Ingo," he greeted as his newer counterpart watched and listened with curiosity.

Though he was connected to the caller, there was a delay in response. No image could be seen but Colress' voice could be heard.

"Ingo," Colress breathed, voice sounding fatigued. "Where are you and Emmet?"

Hearing his name, the newer of the two androids crossed the car and sat beside Ingo, trying to get a look at the X-transceiver's screen. His expression became puzzled when he didn't see the familiar face of the blond and a blank screen instead, only hearing his words.

"We are en route to Gear Station," Ingo replied.

"Doctor Colress?" Emmet cut in, leaning forward to speak into his brother's communication device. "Are you back in Nimbasa yet? You don't sound well." There was a wary edge of concern in his voice.

"Gear Station? Good," Colress murmured, his words interrupted by a pained gasp. "I… I need you to come get me," he finally managed. "34th and Main—the Nimbasa Life building—top floor."

"Your tone is indicative of pain," Ingo remarked. "Are you not well?"

"Please don't be slow," the scientist asked of them before he terminated the call.

The twins looked at each other with concern before they lifted their arms and pointed in the direction of the front of the train, perfectly synchronized with one another.

"We must make this train go faster," they said declared at the same time as they walked briskly through each car, side by side.

[[To Be Continued]]


	9. Repairs

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Nine: Repairs**

The Nimbasa Life building was not terribly far from Gear Station; just a few stops away on the pink line. Both androids were hurrying through the subway stop and through the streets of the business district, moving far quicker than the organic life forms they were modeled to look like. Their swift movements caused quite a few people to stare; it was unusual to see the subway bosses this far away from Gear Station when they weren't underground. Nevertheless, the people of Nimbasa couldn't be too bothered to keep their attention on the two for long, moving about through their places to go and things to do.

Neither android had to look at the street signs or buildings to know where they were going; the map of Nimbasa City, Unova, and indeed, the entire world was programmed within them like a GPS. As they found the Nimbasa Life building on 34th Street and Main Street, the two of them quickly entered through the doors, ignoring any surprised or questioning looks from the front desk they passed.

Emmet allowed one of the cords to release from his wrist and plug into the button panel beside the elevator, hailing it and hacking it so it bypassed any stops along the way. The twins took the elevator about a third of the way up the building before having to switch to a different set of elevators to continue on their way up, repeating the process of bypassing all the floors until they got to the very top. Luckily, the building was mostly empty, considering it was well into the evening already and the workday for most of the employees in the building had ended.

As soon as they reached the sixty-sixth floor, they started searching, splitting up to cover different sections and calling the scientist's name.

Though there was no answer, it wasn't long before Ingo spotted a familiar hexagonal white belt and some white cloth sticking out from the shadows behind a table. "Doctor Colress!" he called and slid to the floor to find him on the other side, balled up.

Ingo took in the blond man's appearance and saw the multiple bruises, cuts, and scrapes on his face, also noting the scuffs and dirt on his normally pristine white lab coat. Colress' white gloves were tinged a rusty color, most likely from touching the wounds on his face, Ingo reasoned, and his normally slicked back hair began to hang loose and fall in his face a bit, along with the normally proudly standing blue section.

_I have found him_, Ingo communicated to Emmet silently through their personal wavelength.

Just after the message was received, Ingo could hear Emmet heading toward him, not needing to be told his location; each were constantly aware of where the other was located.

Ingo reached to touch the scientist on the shoulder and noticed that he flinched in an almost cowering manner before he opened his amber-gold eyes to regard him quietly.

"You are damaged," Ingo stated with wider eyes as Emmet approached from behind.

"Doctor!" Emmet cried, also moving to his knees to more easily access the scientist. "What happened?"

Colress shook his head slightly, slowly, closing his eyes again and making a shaky motion with his hand to hold onto the fabric of Ingo's coat. The older android slid his arms underneath the scientist and carefully lifted him up.

"Just get me out of here," Colress managed to murmur finally.

"Do you need to go to the hospital? It might be best." Emmet suggested.

Another shake of Colress' head. "No."

Ingo gazed down at the doctor, then back at his twin. "We will fix him," he decided as he began to carry the limp human toward the elevator with his identical at his side.

As soon as they were out of the building, they hailed a cab.

…

Colress managed to stand when the twins returned to the familiar central control room with him; they had been sure to communicate with the depot agents to clear an area out so no one would be in their way; a spectacle was the last thing Colress wanted and he was sure to make that clear to them.

"Thank you," Colress finally said, arm over his abdominal area where he had been kicked multiple times. He stood with a slight hunch, making him look shorter than he really was. "I really should apologize to you both. I wasn't expecting to come back in this condition."

Emmet was opening the packages to the bandages they had bought on their way back. "I don't understand yet though. How did you get this hurt?"

The scientist held onto the desk, wiping at his nose that had some blood caked underneath it. Rather than answer Emmet's question directly, Colress shifted his attention onto the other android. "You previously requested of me that I'd consider giving you emotional capabilities; I declined your request and I don't plan on changing my mind." He looked at the blood on his gloved fingers and felt disgusted. "This is what can happen when a human has bad emotions, Ingo. Don't envy what you don't have."

As Ingo listened, Emmet's expression shifted from pure concern to a bit of hurt. It did not go unnoticed that the newer android was somewhat taken aback.

"Even so," Colress decided to amend, turning his attention back to the newer android. "I have a difficult time imagining you losing your… _composure_ in such a way, Emmet. I still trust your decision making before a human's, to be honest with you."

"You probably should not speak this much so soon. It is better to rest," Ingo told him quietly as he pulled Colress' gloves and glasses off, wiping down the dried blood on his face, prompting the scientist to close his eyes.

Emmet watched his brother's movements before he sighed. "I'm only sorry that this happened to you in the first place. I can't believe that people would do this to one another."

"You know better than to be _that_ naïve," the scientist remarked with an almost bitter chuckle. "You are knowledgeable of human conflicts. Humans can be very volatile beings."

"I'm just used to seeing everyone get along," Emmet said softly and moved to Colress' side. "Were they strangers? Bad people?"

The scientist remained quiet before deciding to answer his question. "They are 'bad people' who I know well. But don't worry yourself over it. It's not anything I'm not used to."

Emmet wanted to protest and argue that the scientist didn't deserve such treatment but decided against it, judging by Colress' already pained expression. Instead, he waited for Ingo to finish cleaning the wounds before bandaging the human's cuts himself, somewhat fascinated with his injuries despite feeling terribly for the other; it was simply so different from anything either he or Ingo had experienced. Neither of them bled or even felt pain the way the scientist did. It wasn't that he lacked knowledge of human injuries; he simply didn't have much experience seeing an injury first-hand, and he was sure to take in all the different colors of the particularly large bruise encompassing the area around Colress' eye and how they changed and got lighter as it spread out further away from the point of impact. It was difficult not to notice the large, swollen, red and purple bruises around the scientist's neck where he had been throttled, and how they maintained the shape of the fingers that had wrapped around it; the fascination was the same with the injuries on his wrist.

Emmet finished bandaging up Colress' injured eye before letting Ingo lift him once more. The older android laid him down in the same area they each went to for repairs and updates.

Colress couldn't help but smile just the slightest bit over the fact that the androids decided to treat him in the 'robot clinic'; then again, he did decline going to a hospital and this was the space that the twins associated with 'getting better.' He winced as Emmet pressed some ice to his face and neck, but allowed it and tried not to flinch when Ingo exposed his aching torso and lightly touched a few sensitive areas where he was kicked. As soon as Emmet saw the marks, he was off to get more ice.

"Be right back!" he called to them.

Carefully placing Colress' lab coat to the side along with his shirt after Emmet had gone, Ingo stayed by the scientist and placed his hand on top of his head, attempting to make a few soothing motions. "Maybe you will be happy to know that Emmet's dwebble has evolved into a crustle," he offered. "We always keep the brace on them so the data is consistently collected. Even though you were gone, it has certainly been recorded."

The scientist closed the eye that was visible in response to the android's attempt at comforting him. "That's good to know," he acknowledged. "And yours…?" he asked, trying to converse properly with him; at the very least, bringing his mind back to his research and ignoring the fact that he had inadvertently launched Ghetsis into a fit of rage that he had to pay a price for was at least somewhat pacifying.

"I do not think mine are far behind Emmet's, though none of them have evolved yet."

"I see," Colress murmured, opening his eye again when he heard Emmet's footsteps. He shivered when the android clad in white placed a whole new batch of ice on his torso.

Ingo took off his black coat and placed it over the scientist. "Let us know if you get too cold."

"We'll make sure you'll recover quickly," Emmet said, offering a smile as he collected Colress' lab coat, shirt, and gloves. "And I'll make sure these get washed! You'll surely feel better once everything is clean, right?"

"Right," Colress responded weakly.

Ingo stood and turned off the lights overhead. "Sleep."

[[To Be Continued]]


	10. Short Circuit

**REASON FOR BEING**

Chapter Ten: Short Circuit

"My, my, I see! Your Klink evolved into Klang. I'm very impressed, _very_ impressed, Ingo!" the scientist remarked excitedly to the android, handing him back his poké ball after the steel type had been returned. "Its stats have also exceeded expectations. I'm so pleased that you've brought your pokémon to its evolution level so quickly. Keep it up and you will both begin to run the battle subway in no time!"

Ingo noted that Colress appeared to be completely healed from his injuries. Still, neither android knew the specifics of exactly why the scientist had gotten so injured, aside from what little they were told.

With a tilt of his cap, Ingo gave Colress his grateful acknowledgment. "It pleases me that I have been able to provide you with results of interest," he said politely. "Am I dismissed now?"

Smiling at the data on his screen as he scanned over it again and again, Colress nodded. "Yes, yes, go attend to your subway boss duties," he agreed with a flutter of his hand, waving him off so he could start organizing his latest findings. Ingo gave him an unnoticed courteous salute before leaving the control room.

Over the course of a few weeks, both Emmet's dwebble and trubbish had evolved into crustle and garbodor before Ingo's; the older android's had not only caught up in their evolution, but his klink had evolved into a klang before Emmet's. He now had more evolved pokémon than his identical, and their stats began to balance out. These new developments, though contrary to Colress' original hypothesis, fascinated the scientist and had him in very high spirits.

The android twins had been communicating with each other over their private wavelength that day and agreed to battle one another later and continue to train. After all, they knew that the sooner the battle subway could open, the better. Emmet was especially curious to take Nimbasa City's gym leader up on her offer to battle; Ingo simply held interest in developing the best strategy when they had more variables aside from a small finite amount of combinations and attacks with the current three pokémon they each possessed. It was something Ingo found fascinating, how his twin seemed to be far more interested in connecting with people, even when Emmet was doing his simple subway boss duties.

As he made his way to the multi line-which was fully equipped for battles but only serving as transportation for the time being-and sent out waves to locate his brother, he suddenly became confused when he found out that his brother was not in the multi line train that would be coming in a few minutes, but in the tunnel that the train would be going through, moving at his own pace.

_Emmet? The train will be coming soon. What is it that you are doing-?_

Suddenly, the waves he was using appeared to lack a receptor and Ingo sensed an absolute eerie silence within himself. It was a silence that was even quieter than when their programs had been separated from each other. Now Ingo had no sense that his twin existed at all.

Ingo stopped walking, causing pedestrians to bump into him, though his strength didn't allow him to be jostled. He tried once more, but the communication failed. The subway boss looked up at the station clock, finding that it was about 7 seconds behind the actual time that was perfectly kept within his system. The multi line train would be going through that tunnel in just a few minutes.

Without further hesitation, Ingo began to run through the busy crowd at Gear Station, pushing people aside, not bothering with his usual polite phrases; no 'pardon,' and no 'excuse me.' With his coat flying behind him, his actions startled the commuters and subway riders, shaking them up, causing them to mutter unsavory things, or arousing curiosity that prompted some pedestrians to gawk after him.

Once Ingo made his way to the multi line track platform, he brushed past several people who were waiting for the next train and crossed the yellow caution line, hopping onto the tracks. He at least knew exactly where his brother last was before ceasing to sense him at all.

The android ran down the rails at a speed that far exceeded that of a human's, arms flared out behind him as he rushed forward. Though there was little light in the tunnel, he was able to see easily as his mechanical eyes adjusted into its night-vision mode.

Just a little farther and Ingo knew he was approaching Emmet's last known location. As soon as he rounded the bend of the tunnel, he stopped suddenly with a sway, finding his twin android's body limp on the tracks.

Tilting his head, Ingo knelt down and jostled him by the shoulder. Nothing happened. As he regarded his face, he could tell that his brother had somehow shorted out—his expression looked as though it remained exactly the same as the moment before he ceased to function. Ingo blinked when he could recognize that the expression present on his brother's face resembled something closer to bafflement than his usual friendly smile.

Cautiously, Ingo released a cord from his ear and attempted to plug into the port in Emmet's opposite ear, intending to run a diagnostic. As soon as he barely began to plug in, he received a shock, causing his spine to stiffen.

The shock wasn't enough to incapacitate Ingo like his brother; but for the first time since his activation, Ingo felt what he could only recognize as a sense of dizziness. The dark tunnel seemed to get darker and envelop his vision for just a split second before he felt normal again.

Shaking the odd sensation out of his head, Ingo finally picked up his brother with ease, running back in the direction he came from. He detected that the train was heading down the track he was running on. Ingo continued to head straight for the train, the bright lights illuminating the tunnel, until it was just a few meters away when he jumped high up with his brother in his arms, ran down the roofs of the cars as the train moved, and jumped back down onto the tracks where he continued to run.

Finally reaching the platform once more, he easily jumped up onto it from the low lying tracks and pushed through the commuters yet again to make his way back to the control room, the cord on his wrist already extending as he approached the familiar chromium-plated door.

Once he had unlocked the door with his code, he rushed in with his identical in his arms.

"Doctor Colress!" Ingo called.

The scientist flinched in a startled manner. "Back so soon? Honestly, _honestly_, Ingo, when I'm working, it's very inconvenient for you to—" he stopped short when his eyes moved from the computer screen and to the android that stood before him with the limp double in his arms.

The blond's expression shifted suddenly from minor annoyance to absolute concern. Abandoning his computer screen, he rushed toward Ingo. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.

"I am not certain. As I was heading toward the multi line, I lost any sense of Emmet's being," he explained as Colress attempted to take Emmet himself, forgetting how deceivingly heavy the androids were when they went limp. Shaking his head, he simply pointed to the repairs and enhancement area, quietly telling Ingo to place him there.

Ingo followed Colress' instruction and continued, "I attempted to run a diagnostic on him; however, it is not safe. I received a shock when I made my attempt. I admonish that you proceed with caution."

"No worries." The scientist cautiously hooked Emmet up to the ground mat that fitted the table he was on, neutralizing the threat of being shocked. He gave Emmet a once over, tilting Emmet's head back and forth. "Do you have any idea what he was doing before this happened?"

Ingo lifted his hands up on either side of him in a shrug, mimicking human gestures and shook his head. "I only know that Emmet was in the multi line tunnel that leads out of Gear Station Terminal. That is where I found him. He was exactly like this when I discovered him."

Colress got Emmet out of his coat and set his hat aside. He paused a moment, taking off his glasses and rubbing his wincing eyes. "Where to begin…" he shook his head. "I'm a researcher, not a computer specialist," he grunted to himself. Nevertheless, he put his glasses back on and dug through a nearby drawer, looking for some gloves that would provide insulation in order to be extra cautious; he only removed his usual gloves once he retrieved them to put on.

But for as much as Colress looked the newer android over on the outside, it yielded no clues. "I suppose we need to look at him on the inside then," he commented in a frustrated tone.

Ingo stared at his twin on the table as Colress pulled the limp android's shirt open, getting ready to open up his chest before the older android held up his hand. "Just a moment. I hear something."

Colress turned to regard Ingo with a raised eyebrow. "Go on."

Ingo took a few steps forward, tilting his head robotically from side to side before leaning down and planting his ear against his brother's exposed chest. He blinked twice and then rose once more, pointing at Emmet's torso. "Something is inside of him."

The scientist stared at him. "It isn't ticking, is it?" It honestly wouldn't have surprised him, given the organization he worked for.

Ingo made a negative gesture by waving a hand in the air. "No such threat is present. Something is moving around rather quickly. I still advise caution."

Colress looked paler than usual. "How very reassuring," he commented sarcastically. Gingerly, he used a scalpel-like object to cut the soft synthetic skin that covered Emmet before pealing it back to reveal a metal skeleton and some small multi-colored lights that were flashing irregularly within his metal structure.

Ingo placed his hand over the scientist's. "Allow me, Doctor Colress. Should something happen to me, it is highly probable that I can be revived; the probability is exceptionally lower for you in the event of a malfunction."

Sighing, Colress gestured toward the limp android to let Ingo proceed. "In that case, have at him."

With a nod, Ingo carefully pressed his gloved fingers against a hinge that opened the inside of his brother's chest cavity and instantly spied something scurrying around in him.

"Oh," Ingo said flatly. "I believe I found the problem." He reached inside his brother's chest and pulled out a small yellow tuft of fluff that squeaked when it was touched. Ingo covered the small joltik with his other hand to keep it from escaping.

All the scientist could do was gawk. "You mean to tell me…" he pinched the bridge of his nose. "How on earth did it get _inside_ him?" Emphatically, he threw his hands up in the air. "Of course, of course this would happen!" he announced to no one in particular and retrieved a plastic container, holding it open as Ingo caught on and placed the jittery electric-bug type inside of it. Once the lid was placed on top, Colress handed the container to Ingo. "Poke some holes in the top, will you? I need to see how many of his wires got chewed up, see if there is any permanent damage."

Ingo obeyed and carried the container off, finding a sharp letter opener and poking holes in the top, causing the joltik to flinch and cower in a corner of the plastic enclosure and close its multiple blue eyes in distress.

"Do not worry, small Joltik. You will be properly taken care of," Ingo told it before placing the plastic container on the desk and rejoining the scientist, who was now using a device to measure the electrical charge inside of the newer android.

Colress glanced up at Ingo. "As I thought, the current's been neutralized. Emmet's wiring is a bit damaged, thanks to the joltik chewing on it, but we should be able to revive him. I'll have it replaced. In the meantime, would you please run a diagnostic on him now that it's safe? Make sure there's nothing irreparable."

"Yes, Doctor." Ingo stood beside his twin and released the same cord from his ear that he let out earlier, connecting once more into Emmet's opposite ear and having no problems this time. His eyes appeared glazed over in the couple minutes it for him to scan Emmet's entire system and returned to their usual vibrancy once he was finished. Ingo regarded the scientist. "We should restart him. Like you said, some of his wiring needs to be replaced, but no circuits have been blown out. A simple recharge should be all he needs."

Colress nodded, finally breathing a sigh of relief that he didn't realize he was holding in. "Good."

After hooking Emmet back up to the main charger, something that generally only had to be used to activate the androids or restart them for repairs, Colress allowed the newer android to get recharged.

Colress began to busy himself with his data once more but found himself periodically checking up on Emmet every ten minutes. Ingo remained beside his twin, holding the hand of his identical. Approximately one hour passed by the time Colress returned once more to unhinged Emmet from the large charger that attached to his back, prompting his immediate activation.

With a start, Emmet blinked, looking around him. "Ah—I must have blacked out? What an odd sensation," he remarked, rubbing the back of his head.

Colress grabbed Emmet by the shoulders. "What happened? How did that joltik get in you?"

"I put it in my mouth," Emmet said matter-of-factly.

The scientist stared blankly at him. "You what?"

Ingo stared as well. "You nearly got run over by the multi line train," he commented, finally letting go of his hand.

"No, no, you don't understand!" Emmet insisted. "I saw the joltik trying to jump down one of the air vents and I was worried it might get trapped," he explained. "But just as I rescued it, I caught somebody heading into the tunnel!"

Colress raised an eyebrow. "You what?"

"Someone was on the tracks and ran into the tunnel, so I ran after him, and, well," he laughed a little. "You didn't exactly give us poké balls for capturing new pokémon yet, so I didn't have anywhere to put it. So I put the joltik in my mouth as I ran after the guy. But I felt it jump down my throat and I think I shorted out soon after?"

Colress brought his hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And what of this person who ran into the tunnel?"

Emmet shrugged. "I'm not sure, Doctor Colress. I tried to go after him. Hopefully he wasn't hurt, but…" he looked uneasy for a moment and grabbed at the fabric of his pant leg. "I know I am only an android and that my emotions are a result of my programming; however, I believe I've observed very suspicious activity," he nodded.

"Suspicious?" Ingo repeated.

"Great," Colress muttered. "Just what I need, some other distraction," he spoke to himself. "So you didn't find him. What was suspicious about him? What did he look like?"

Emmet recalled the information. "He kept checking things, took a lot of photos of Gear Station, nothing of particular interest though. And running into a tunnel sure is suspicious, right?"

Colress nodded with a sigh. "Indeed."

"He had red hair, blue eyes, and was exactly five feet and eight inches tall. He had a thin but athletic build."

The scientist suddenly frowned. The description of this individual sounded familiar to him. "How old did he look?"

"Oh, I would guess between twenty-two and twenty-six?"

The blond stared at Emmet. "Thank you, Emmet. That will be all." The scientist suddenly made to move toward the exit before being caught by his hand by the android.

"Ah, Doctor Colress? May I keep the joltik?" Emmet asked hopefully.

Colress looked over his shoulder at him before finally digging his hand into one of the large pockets of his lab coat and retrieved two of the familiar red and white devices, tossing one to each android. "Yes, but you must catch it in a poké ball. Ingo, you may have one in case you encounter a pokémon as well."

Both androids thanked him then, Emmet's expression turning into a wider smile.

"Where are you going?" Ingo asked after the scientist as he turned once more toward the door.

Without looking behind him, Colress called back to him, "I have a phone call I need to make."

[[To Be Continued]]


	11. Standard Procedures

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Eleven: Standard Procedures**

"_Mister Ghetsis_, what the hell is going on?" demanded Colress, having used his tablet to call his employer once he hid himself away in a vacant office.

"You seem on edge, Doctor Colress."

The two stared at each other through their monitors and Colress narrowed his eyes. Rather than press his colleague about _if_ he sent the familiar member from Plasma to Gear Station, the scientist chose a more direct approach.

"Why did you send Brad here? What was he doing?" the scientist asked in reference to the man with red hair and blue eyes that Emmet spotted; had he been in any other position, he would have dismissed this as purely a coincidence, but given Ghetsis' need for control and his tendency to avoid telling Colress of certain plans he's initiating made the scientist wary at best. Having worked with Brad close by for a few years now, he knew Ghetsis often used Brad to gather information.

The question didn't seem to surprise Ghetsis in the slightest. "It's not an unusual procedure for your work to be shadowed and covered by Plasma grunts. Consider it extra security."

Colress furrowed his brows. There was something about this that was unusual. "Why would Brad disappear into the tunnel like that if he was merely covering me? First of all, he normally announces his presence. Secondly, he would blend in more had he, perhaps, stayed in the crowd rather than _run into the tunnel_ like I was told by one of my androids, who, by the way, mentioned that he had been photographing the area. I'll ask again: what's going on?"

The slightest bit of a smirk began to cover the long-haired man's face as he gazed at the scientist with his one good eye. "Is my obsessive-compulsive scientist insinuating in his paranoia that some kind of farfetched conspiracy is at hand? Or are you attempting to give me a good laugh?"

"Ghetsis," Colress dropped the formality, ignoring the other man's ridicule. "Answer me."

"As I said, _Colress_," Ghetsis reduced the formality in turn, "I am merely having you covered. What could you possibly think I'm conspiring?"

"You've used crowded areas before to get your message across; anything from recruitment, to speeches, to sabotage. I'm just wondering if I should be _prepared_ for something, if my research and I need to disappear for a while. It's impolite—very impolite—to keep your colleague in the dark."

"He's been instructed to know the ins and outs of Gear Station should anything undesirable happen," Ghetsis told him while maintaining eye contact with his scientist. "It's for your own benefit."

"Why didn't you tell me this?"

Ghetsis shook his head in an almost frustrated seeming manner. "Unlike you, wasting my time, I find it meaningless to inform you of standard procedures that hardly concern you."

The blond crossed his arms and stared at the image of his employer that was being transmitted on his monitor. "Please inform me next time."

The sage lifted his good hand up, making a gesture of little concern. "If it will ease your absurd paranoia, then I will inform you next time. For future reference, I will be sending Angie soon enough to assist you. You will know in advance."

[[To Be Continued]]


	12. Burn Ghost

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Twelve: Burn Ghost**

The multi line was temporarily shut down during the late hours of the night as Ingo moved through the tunnel to explore it. Under Colress' instruction, he was to look for anything that seemed unusual.

Though his eyes could see easily in the dark, he brought a lantern with him in case he had to call for backup; that way he could be easily found.

Searching the tunnel and scanning the tracks, the subway boss moved further and further into the darkness, finding nothing that would cause alarm. Once he was halfway through, he transmitted a message to his twin android:

_I have currently covered exactly fifty percent of the multi line tunnel leading out of Gear Station. Please inform Doctor Colress that there is nothing unusual to report at this point. I will proceed further now._

Continuing on his way, Ingo was vigilant in his search, using both his advanced vision and pings of sonar to detect anything that shouldn't be there. It was a process that most would consider frustrating and perhaps a bit frightening; at least, that was what Emmet told him about humans. Though Ingo was not equipped with the emotional capabilities that his twin had, he thought to himself that it was best that he was chosen for this search.

Just barely three quarters of the way through the tunnel, Ingo suddenly spotted a faint purple glow hitting the wall of the tunnel where it curved. He stopped for a moment to regard it before continuing at a faster pace, ceasing his use of the sonar and turning off his lantern as he approached the glow.

After rounding the curve, there was some flickering movement on the tracks as Ingo drew closer and he was able to easily identify the source of the glow as a pokémon. He wondered how a litwick managed to get into the subway tunnel, whether it was lost or wild. The android moved silently as he approached the slightly lopsided creature who was hobbling around the new tracks and its newest small victims.

Ingo was only a few yards away when the cheerful looking litwick finally turned and saw the soulless android with the aid of its violet flame atop its head. With its bright yellow gaze fixed on the android, its species' typically cheerful expression reduced to one that resembled a mix of confusion and terror.

The android regarded the ghost-fire type and looked past it, noting quote a few dead rattatas on their backs. His mechanical silvery eyes moved back toward the pokémon. "I assume you have just feasted upon the souls of those rattatas. Litwicks like you are not normally found in the subway tunnels. Perhaps you are lost?"

The small creature did not seem to respond positively to Ingo's voice and hopped away from the android until it tripped over the tracks and fell backward with a squeak.

Ingo tilted his head. "Are you frightened of me?" He paused, attempting to lean down to get the litwick right side up again. It was when he touched the litwick's body that the pokémon lashed out, letting out a large burst of flames.

Though the violet flames engulfed his arm, Ingo didn't flinch. He kept his hold on the litwick even as the fire burned through the sleeve of his black coat, eating through his synthetic skin.

"Please stop," was all Ingo asked of the pokémon.

The flames only grew stronger with the ghost-fire type practically shrieking at him, recoiling more as it let loose its fire; Ingo noted how most humans were afraid of ghosts, and found it interesting that the litwick he had in his hold appeared to be in fear of him.

That infernal scorching burst could only be used for so long. Once the litwick's energy was spent, Ingo looked down at the pokémon. "Is it because you did not sense me approaching? That must be it," he spoke as his incinerated arm made a few crackling noises. "I do not have a soul; it scares you that something sentient with its own thoughts and will does not possess a spirit. I apologize if I have frightened you."

With his unscathed hand, Ingo reached for one of his poké balls and released his steel type. His klang twirled against itself, greeting his trainer with a mechanical noise. "Even Klang has a soul. You must surely perceive that." He made to let go of the litwick but found that his arm was no longer accepting commands. It was incinerated beyond use. Upon this realization, he used his good hand to pull the useless one away from the ghost-fire type.

Klang regarded the litwick with curiosity and the litwick began to relax ever so slightly. Though steel types were weak against fire, Ingo could tell that his klang was a much higher level than the stray in the tunnel.

"Klang. Use thundershock," Ingo commanded. His klang obeyed him and further reduced the litwick's strength, causing it to flop over again, right on its face; it struggled to get up, however, as it did not quite faint.

The android felt around for the new poké ball that the scientist had given him and found it, throwing it at the litwick and capturing it inside the device. It shook a bit in the air before hitting the ground, making its clicking noise to indicate that it had been captured, not even twitching once beforehand. Ingo reached down with his unscathed hand and picked up the poké ball, clipping it to his belt.

"Thank you, Klang. You did a good job." He returned the steel type as well before resuming his scan of the tunnel in spite of his injury.

[[To Be Continued]]


	13. Replacement Parts Needed

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Thirteen: Replacement Parts Needed**

"You have got to be joking," was the first thing Colress said upon seeing Ingo enter into the control room with his arm incinerated. "You and Emmet need to stop getting damaged. This is too much."

"Doctor Colress, you got damaged first," Ingo reminded him.

The scientist threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. "Ridiculous. Ridiculous!" he exclaimed, pulling the older android by his good wrist. "Good thing you do not have a preference hand. That right arm of yours isn't even moving right now," he muttered and nearly pushed the android down into a seat.

"Are you upset with me?" Ingo inquired, taking off his coat. "There was a litwick in the subway tunnel." He gestured with his left hand toward the new poké ball on his belt clip. "I caught it."

Colress raised a brow at him. "Seems like the litwick battled you rather than your pokémon, if that's the case." He sighed then. "You do realize that you are very, _very_ expensive, right?"

"I am aware," Ingo replied.

The scientist regarded the bits of fabric burned into the android's useless arm and got out a pair of scissors to cut away the part of his shirt that was fused into his melted synthetic skin. "Lucky for you, your appendage is easily replaceable. I can't say the same for humans." He regarded his arm one more time before beginning to cut the dead wires with a pair of pliers. "Let me know if I hit any live ones. I'd prefer to salvage everything I can of you."

Ingo pointed from the tips of his scorched fingers to the area just below his shoulder. "This area is non-functioning, from circuits RA-1 through RA-8. Commands are received beginning with circuit RA-9.

Colress simply shook his head. "You know your layout better than I do. Like I said, just tell me if I touch anything live by accident."

"Yes, Doctor Colress."

Once the dead wires were cut away, Colress gestured for him to lie down in the cube-like space where repairs were done. "Forgive me, but this 'operation' is going to be a bit crude. I'll order you a new arm and have it delivered as soon as possible though," he assured him as he went through his drawer to figure out what will work best. "Did that cartilage of yours melt?"

"Yes. It melted, and then it hardened. Some of my skin got stuck in the joint too."

Colress grunted loudly in frustration. "Okay. This is going to be very crude then, very, _very_ crude," he announced as he continued to look, trying to find the ideal items to complete the task.

He finally returned with a pair of vice grips, a scalpel-like knife, and some tweezers. "It's times like these when I am very grateful that you are not a human," he mentioned as be began to pick away at the hardened synthetic cartilage and skin that practically glued the ball joint of the android's arm in its socket. Ingo allowed him to work, not complaining or flinching once.

After agonizing over it for a good half hour, picking the hardened bits out with the tweezers, Colress finally had the ball joint loose enough. "Now that there is nothing to keep the joint cushioned in place, this should be fairly easy." The scientist retrieved the pair of vice grips he brought over, grabbed a hold of the ball joint with them, and yanked the arm out of its socket with a relative amount of ease. Colress tossed the dead robotic arm to the side and finally sat next to his one-armed android, patting the top of his head. "Please be more careful with your body next time."

Ingo glanced down at his armless shoulder and gave Colress a nod. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Well, at least you can be easily fixed. It will just take some time for a new arm to be made for you." The blond stood then. "Stay here."

The android obeyed, staring up at the bright lights at the top of the cube-like structure he laid in. He heard the scientist in the room over ordering the new parts and his request for someone to come out to fix him once the arm was ready because 'he is a researcher, not a robotics engineer' and he might 'put it on backwards' for all he knew.

Colress finally returned then, a new coat for Ingo in his arm. It was identical to the first and he had a new white shirt with him as well. "I keep a few of these around because I figured you'd need to have them replaced at some point; I simply didn't anticipate you'd need them this early."

"Thank you." Ingo reached for the shirt and changed into it with his one arm without a struggle; he commanded his remaining hand with superior precision. When he put his black coat on, Colress helped him drape the right side over his shoulder more in a way that seemed familiar to the scientist.

"You should wear your coat like this at all times. Humans have… adverse reactions when seeing an anomaly on a body."

Ingo's eyes shifted to look at him. "You are not behaving poorly."

The scientist merely shrugged. "I suppose I'm used to it. Something similar happened to a close colleague of mine, also by fire… also by a pokémon. In fact, I was there when it happened. Believe me when I say that is not an experience I would like to relive. I've never heard so much screaming in my life."

Ingo thought to himself for a moment. "Though I don't experience emotions, I do find screams to be unpleasant."

Colress tapped his own head, a gesture he used fairly often as if to say, _yes, good, you are thinking_. "That is the correct reaction to have upon hearing one." He decided it was best to shift the topic of conversation, putting Ingo's hat back on his head. "Do you think you will be able to resume training your pokémon and perform your duties as usual?"

"It should not be a problem, Doctor Colress."

[[To Be Continued]]


	14. Emotion

**REASON FOR BEING**

**Chapter Fourteen: Emotion**

"How was your first day on the single line?"

"I won nineteen out of twenty battles."

"Very good," Emmet smiled. "I also won nineteen out of twenty battles. My joltik is getting stronger but she's still a little nervous when it comes to two-on-two."

Ingo nodded. "I see. I am still training my litwick. I do not plan to use her just yet. It is nice that we can finally battle on the single and double lines. It is only a matter of time until we can battle on the multi line too," he gestured toward the car they were riding in. "It is certainly big enough for multi battles in here."

Emmet nodded in turn, mechanical eyes moving down to Ingo's right side. "Was it difficult to battle with only one arm?"

Ingo looked down at his armless side. It was taking longer than anticipated for Ingo's new arm to be shipped, so he was stuck with only one when the battle subway officially opened. "It was not difficult. There were only a few times when my coat opened too much. I received a few odd looks and reactions a result. It was not an ideal situation."

A sigh escaped Emmet, followed by a small hum. "Well, humans can be rather strange beings."

All Ingo did was shrug slightly. "I suppose so. There were two children who began to cry upon seeing that it was missing. I do not understand this kind of reaction."

Emmet's expression became perplexed. "I think we already have many humans uneasy as we are—being androids, I mean." He moved to Ingo's side of the car and sat beside him on the subway seat, lifting his hand to move the shoulder of Ingo's jacket away so he could regard the area that was missing; he simply lacked the arm completely. There was nothing beyond where Ingo's shoulder stopped. Finally, Emmet added, "Humans seem to be afraid from things that are different than what's normal. Even among _other humans_, when people see a disfigurement like yours, it can be scary to them. The fact that you are an android _and_ have a disfigurement may be even scarier, especially to children."

"The important thing is that Doctor Colress can use the information he has been collecting from our battles," Ingo determined. "It is known that we are androids among the public. It would be logical to conclude that those who challenge us would know what to expect."

"Kids can be different though. They're still learning and they don't always know what's socially acceptable and what isn't. Adult humans… they will say nothing to us, but that doesn't mean they aren't thinking that we appear odd or even scary. Children simply appear to do and say what adults have learned to keep to themselves."

In response, all Ingo did was give another slight shrug. "That does not change that we won nineteen out of twenty battles on our first day using the single and double lines."

Emmet laughed. "True!"

"What we need to do now is win even more battles. While it is unlikely to consistently maintain a one-hundred percent winning streak, we can certainly improve our methods by analyzing the same data that Doctor Colress has been collecting."

"Speaking of which," the younger android started to smile again, "I'd like to compare our battles. I think it would be useful so we can battle at our highest efficiency!" A thin cord from his ear was released and Emmet pulled it out further, holding the plug by his fingers. "What do you say? Shall we exchange information?"

The suggestion was new but it made perfect sense. "Yes. Let us exchange our data." The identical cord released from Ingo's ear as well.

Each android faced each other. Emmet's free hand moved under Ingo's chin as the other plugged the cord into the port inside Ingo's opposite ear. Ingo then tilted Emmet's face with the one hand he had and used it to repeat the action, plugging himself into Emmet's port as well.

The vibrancy of their eyes faded to a much duller gray as the information was exchanged, quickly sorting through it and filing it away for future reference in battle. Once the data was finished being transmitted, their eyes returned to their usual appearance.

Tilting his head a bit, the older android continued to gaze at his twin, no longer speaking out loud. _I have not been connected to you in such a way ever since your system was separated from my own. Being connected to you like this allows me to hear your thoughts again-all of them. The only difference now is that they are louder and there are more of them._

Emmet nodded, grinning. _I can hear all of your thoughts too but they're just as loud as they were when I was a part of you_. He laughed aloud softly. _Though we can communicate on our own channel, this has been the first time we're really… hearing __**everything**__, from each other, isn't it?_

_Yes. Unlike before, I can hear everything in your mind now. It is fascinating._

Emmet's eyes lightened up with an idea, and as soon as it crossed his mind, Ingo looked curious. Nevertheless, Emmet communicated his thoughts to clarify his intentions: _Now would be a good time to show you what emotions feel like. You've been wanting to know, haven't you?_

_Yes, but doing so may disrupt Doctor Colress' research. I cannot accept this information_.

Emmet reached out and touched both of Ingo's shoulders. _It will only be temporary. It's not like the emotion software will be downloaded to you; it will simply be shared while we're connected. No harm done!_

Ingo considered Emmet's argument before finally nodding. _Then you have my permission._

Emmet's smile widened. _I'm so happy. Now you will be able to understand what it is I feel, what I experience every day; how I mimic human emotions, and how it can aid in helping you to understand them._

_I am ready to receive them_. Ingo's eyes grew dull again as his system opened itself up to have the information transmitted.

The younger android's hands moved around his brother and pulled him closer. _Then here we go_.

As if happening all at once, the emotions flooded Ingo's system. His eyes grew wider and he grasped at Emmet's coat with his hand, shuddering and clinging to the younger android, his back arching briefly, reacting to the overflow of data.

_You're feeling it!_ Emmet exclaimed, eyes widening.

"What is that?" Ingo asked aloud, pressing himself closer and closer to his twin, as if he wanted to close any and all distance that remained between them.

"That's love," Emmet said, reaching up to take off Ingo's hat and patting his head. "Strong, isn't it?"

Ingo continued to cling onto Emmet. "It is such a strange sensation. Suddenly you seem far more… mandatory to have close by."

"That's how I feel about you," the younger android clarified, his arms hugging Ingo closer. "I love my older brother very much. I just didn't want to do anything that you'd find confusing." He kissed Ingo on the forehead. "But I think now, even without the software being ingrained in you, you will understand what it means if I hug you or kiss your forehead or grasp your hand, right?"

Ingo nodded more. "Yes… however, this is almost overwhelming." His hand touched a spot on his own chest, looking down at it. "Right here. It almost seems warm."

"You're experiencing love in your own way. And while we are sharing many feeling right now, you aren't experiencing my personal feelings. These are all your own!" He pulled Ingo back slightly to look at him more easily, that smile of his ever-present. "So I think what this means is that if you _did_ have emotion software, that you would love your brother very, very much as well. You're already so caring of me, even without the emotions."

Ingo leaned up and finally reciprocated, taking off Emmet's hat and kissing his forehead in return. "It is difficult to know for sure, but I think your deduction is reasonable."

"With your permission then, is it alright if I show how much I love you more openly now that you understand what this all… _feels_ like?"

"You have my permission." He sighed, hand moving to cling to Emmet's coat again. "It continues to fascinate me. When I think about Doctor Colress and my pokémon, this feeling still resonates. Each kind of love I am experiencing for you, Doctor Colress, and my pokémon, are somehow different. I am not sure how to explain it."

"We've spoken about this before," Emmet laughed a little. "About the different kinds of love," he clarified.

It took Ingo a moment and then he finally nodded. "Yes, I recall that conversation."

"There are many other emotions too but I think it's best if we take one at a time. I really wanted to share that one with you though. I find it to be one of the most important ones."

"Thank you for sharing it with me."

The twin androids continued to hold each other until the multi line began to approach Gear Station. Slowly, Emmet pulled back from his brother.

"We should disconnect now," he murmured, voice softer.

"Yes," Ingo agreed, though he pulled away a bit hesitantly. "Perhaps you can show me the other emotions at a later time."

"Of course," Emmet sighed, leaning in to rub his nose against Ingo's before they both finally disconnected their cords.

Ingo shuddered again before he returned to his normal status. After pausing for a moment, he looked up at the ceiling of the car. "Strange. Though we are no longer connected, the residual feeling has been imprinted into my memory. It is almost as though I can still feel it, though its intensity has diminished."

Emmet's hand moved up to his mouth and covered it. "Oh dear. I didn't account for that happening."

"It does not matter. Our battle and training methods are likely to remain the same."

"Maybe," Emmet mumbled behind his hand, looking off to the side and out the window as their train pulled in. "I just hope Doctor Colress won't be mad."

[[To Be Continued]]


End file.
